Prince of Music
by ScherzoVivace
Summary: 22-year-old amateur conductor Miho goes to Japan to conduct an orchestra composed only of boys, notorious for driving conductors nuts and make them leave within a week. What will she do? Can they establish new relationships? TezukaXOCXRyoga
1. Hello, Orchestra

Prince of Music

Chapter 1: Hello, Orchestra.

'_Flashback, non-speech, thoughts'_

"**English"**

"Hey hey did you hear? We're getting a new conductor!" A blond curly haired kid exclaimed as they ran into a social lounge. All the kids busy relaxing and hanging out paused and stared at the boy, but resumed whatever they were doing as if the news was nothing that new.

"Again?"

"It's not even that surprising." Murmurs and complains of the young men filled the room as they all did whichever thing they pleased to do, not caring much about the news.

"Heh, it's about time we're getting rid of that old crack." A boy with a blue cap on backwards snorted while he played billiard with other people in the room. "He actually lasted a whole two weeks. Gross."

"Should we have a warm welcome for the new conductor~?" A boy with silver hair, mole on the chin, and rattail rocked back and forth on a chair and said, drinking a soda.

"Who is it anyways?"

"I dunno, but I heard that he's pretty genius."

"Can't get any more genius than me." A maroon haired boy said, blowing a bubble out of his gum. People around rolled eyes at his attitude, but chuckled nonetheless.

"I don't want any old snowflakes dudes again! Jesus, their accents are so hard to understand!" A spikey-haired boy with purple eyes exclaimed and everyone laughed along in approval.

"Yeah, we want a woman! Someone pretty!"

"That last woman only lasted half a week… what a shame it was. And she wasn't even that pretty."

"We should respect whoever's coming. They do have skill to conduct us, after all." A boy with a black hair and old face said.

"Oi, Sanada. You sure you aren't trying to become all friendly with the conductor and get a good chair?" A boy with lavender hair and a mole under his right eye slyly commented, and earned a glare from Sanada.

"Maa, stop it you two." A nice-looking blue-haired boy said. He had a really feminine voice filled with grace and serenity; almost unlike a guy. "But we really do have to respect the new conductor so that he doesn't leave like the last one.

"Peh, he'll end up leaving anyways. And all the conductors so far _sucked_." Shishido again blurted out. "You know that, Yukimura. Even if you agree that we should respect them I don't think any of us liked the conductors so far. We might as well appoint a conductor amongst ourselves or just form a trio or a quartet or a sextet. Or even just a chamber group."

"Yes, but that's not our choice. And our wages would plummet if we do so." The blue-haired boy, Yukimura, replied. With the reality back into their senses, musicians in the room all sighed heavily, showing frustration.

"Should we throw a welcome-party?"

"Hehehe… that'd be nice." Niou said, with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"No, Niou." Sanada shook his head, crossing his arms. "Not this time."

"Aw~ Don't be a party pooper!" He replied slyly. "Besides, I know plenty other people would want to do it. If he stays with us even after all that prank he'll be a good conductor, right? So, who's with me?" He stood up and yelled across the room, catching everyone's attention. Well it was easy; anything interesting and new was enough to perk up the interest of the musicians who were bored out of their wits.

"Me!" Jirou, the boy who first blurted out the news raised his hand up high and said.

"Me too!" A maroon haired boy with a bandage on his cheek said also.

"I'm in." Marui and Akaya, a curly black haired boy, also raised their hands.

"Me too! Me too!" Tooyama Kintarou, another boy with an auburn maroon hair said, hyped up.

"Alright. Leave it all to this trickster." Niou smirked.

"Is this really okay, Tezuka?" Oishi, a boy with the most ridiculous haircut of all, said to a hazelnut haired boy with glasses.

"Leave them be." He sighed a little. "It's not like we could stop those boys."

"He'll probably end up leaving after a week like the last twenty or so conductors." Shiraishi, a boy with a bandaged arm, said.

In a first-class seat of a plane flying from America to Tokyo, a young girl was looking at a very complicated music score while waving her fingers to the beats of music playing through her headphones.

"Excuse me."

"Huh?" She took off her headphones and looked up at the steward.

"We're about to land, so please buckle your belt and put away the headphones." He said courteously, and the girl did as requested. Although she was at the favorite part of the piece, she really didn't have any choice.

She just sat there and stared out the window; then she began thinking about the new orchestra she was soon going to conduct.

"All-Japan Orchestra, huh…" She mumbled as the sight of skyscrapers of Tokyo came into her view.

_Miho looked over the list of musicians and their respective instruments and chairs. _

_Violin 1 by stands: _

_Yukimura Seiichi (principal), Echizen Ryoma_

_Atobe Keigo, Kevin Smith_

_Aoi Kentarou, Akutagawa Jirou_

_Ibu Shinji, Kamio Akira_

_Violin 2 by stands:_

_Oshitari Yuushi (principal), Oshitari Kenya_

_Saeki Koujirou, Mizuki Hajime_

_Yanagisawa Shinya, Horio Satoshi_

_Kato Kachirou, Mizuno Katsuo_

_Cellos by stands: _

_Tezuka Kunimitsu (co-principal) , Sanada Genichirou (co-principal)_

_Shiraishi Kuranosuke, Chitose Senri_

_Hirakoba Rin, Kajimoto Takahisa_

_Ishida Tetsu_

_Violas by stands: _

_Ootori Choutarou (co-principal), Shishido Ryou (co-principal)_

_Zaizen Hikaru, Taki Haginosuke_

_Kisarazu Ryou/Atsushi, _

_Akazawa Yoshirou, Kaneda Ichirou_

_Bass:_

_Ishida Gin, Tachibana Kippei, Tanishi Kei_

_Bassoons: _

_Clark Keith, Lin Shiu, Hirakoba Rin_

_Flutes: _

_Fuji Syuusuke (principal) , Konjiki Koharu, Hitouji Yuuji_

_Clarinets: _

_Niou Masaharu (principal), Tooyama Kintarou , Kuwahara Jackal, Fuji Yuuta, Ooishi Syuuichirou_

_Oboes: _

_Yanagi Renji (principal) , Kirihara Akaya, Inui Sadaharu, Hiyoshi Wakashi_

_Trumpets:_

_Kite Eishirou (principal), Momoshiro Takeshi, Kaido Kaoru, Hirakoba Rin_

_French Horns:_

_Yagyuu Hiroshi (principal)_

_Marui Bunta_

_Sengoku Kiyosumi_

_Tuba: _

_Kabaji Munehiro, Chinen Hiroshi , Itsuki Marehiko_

_Percussions: _

_Kikumaru Eiji, Kawamura Takashi, Akutsu Jin, Dan Taichi_

'It's a long list…'_ Miho thought, looking over the names of the musicians. The orchestra was not too big; in fact, it was a bit less than normal. A slightly risky size._

"_**Now, I'm warning you beforehand…**__" A middle-aged man said. "__**Although they're all skilled musicians, they're pretty notorious for making the conductor go nuts. No conductor survived more than two weeks."**_

"_**It can't be that bad, right?" **__She raised her eyebrows and asked._

"_**That's what everyone says in the beginning." **__The man shrugged his shoulders and replied, confident in his words._

"_**Well, I'm not going to make my first orchestra of my life go to waste." **_

'_Yeah… I can't let my first orchestra kick me out. I'll make something out of it.'_ She thought.

She was a dazzling, confident girl; with somewhat cold yet sophisticated features, she had long deep navy, almost black hair and gray eyes. She was about average in height, about 165 centimeters tall.

When the plane stopped, she took her backpack, a small roller luggage, and a violin case in her hand. She walked out to the terminal, and saw a person who held up a sign saying, 'Welcome, Maestro!' in English.

She walked up to the lady. "Hello, I'm Haraue Miho. You must be…Ryuuzaki Sumire-san?"

"Oh, hello. Yes I am." She had a slight look of surprise. "My, my, I knew that you'd be young, but you still amaze me!" She chuckled.

"Thank you." She smiled faintly.

"I have the car ready. Shall we go?"

"Yes."

The two walked to the parking lot.

"Baa-chan!" A girl's voice rang out; the two spotted a girl with long, twin-braided ponytails. The two walked over to the car. "Ah! You're the conductor?" She gasped and asked.

"Yes. Nice to meet you, I'm Haraue Miho."

"Nice to meet you, Haraue-san, I'm Ryuuzaki Sakuno! Ah, I'm really surprised since you're so young!" She clasped her hands, eyes sparkling in amusement.

"A lot of people say." Miho just shrugged her shoulders and said; really, she was used to it. People weren't exactly composed when they found out about Miho's occupation.

"Now, let's get going, they must be waiting for us." Sumire said and the three walked out.

So they exited the airport parking lots and drove towards the dorms where the orchestra was staying. Miho took a look at the place she haven't been to for over ten years. Surely it changed a lot; it was really different from when she left.

"It's really convenient," Ryuuzaki started while driving, "Since we have our symphony hall close to our dormitory. They're all in one big building."

"That is convenient." She replied. "…Around how old are the musicians?"

"They're around twenty to twenty-four. You'll see a lot of people your age."

"I see."

After about thirty minutes of driving, the two arrived at the dormitory.

"The ol' hag's here! Sakuno-chan's here!" Jirou, who was one of the people in charge of monitoring if the conductor arrived, yelled as he saw Ryuuzaki step out of the car. "Eh? Where's the conductor?"

"Well, Sakuno-chan's over there…" Kikumaru trailed off, peeking out the window. "And some girl~ Are we having a new violin player?"

"We can't have girls in our orchestra, baka."

"I can't see her face!" Mukahi grunted, trying to climb on the top of the two to get a good view.

"That looks like a violin case. Or maybe it's a viola case?"

"Nope, it's definitely a banjo." Jirou crossed his arms and said determinedly.

"You idiot, there's no way someone would carry a banjo here!"

"Then a ukulele?"

"You're dumb."

"Anyways, let's go tell Niou!"

The three ran over to the entrance hall where all the musicians were gathered to throw a "friendly" surprise party for the conductor. There were about four poppers in each person's hands, ready to pull and create a massive jump-scare anytime.

"Niou! The conductor's not with the old hag!" Mukahi reported.

"Huh? That's weird…" He rubbed his chin. "Wait, let's hold on the prank for now. It's pretty expensive too, so let's not waste our chance, alright?"

"Alright."

With the sound of the automatic door sliding open, three people entered the hall; the musicians gathered around and faced Ryuuzaki. Miho's eyes quickly scanned every single musicians in the room, and immediately sensed: trouble.

"Oh, that's a first! You guys are all here!" Ryuuzaki exclaimed, very impressed. From the last performances, they've always missed at least half of the orchestra whenever the conductor visited them for the first time.

"Hey! A pretty girl!" Kikumaru beamed in delight.

"Ryuuzaki-sensei, where's our conductor?" Tezuka asked politely.

"She's the conductor right here; her name's Haraue Miho. She came from America." Ryuuzaki gestured at Miho and stepped a little away for her to introduce herself.

"Thank you. I'm Haraue Miho, your new conductor." She introduced her self. Inside, she was wondering why there were so many guys, but no sight of a girl.

"…"

"WHAT!" Everyone yelled out at once. Miho sighed inwardly in annoyance; even though she did expect to have some reactions, she couldn't quite get used to it since there were so many.

"How is she our conductor?"

"Even though she's young she completed her studies few weeks ago at Curtis. You all know where that is right?"

"CURTIS! THAT'S HELLA GOOD!" Mukahi yelled out.

"Curtis? Is that a type of curry?" Kintarou asked, drooling a little.

"No Kin-chan, it's a type of conservatory. Although it's not as renowned as Julliard, I heard that in terms of education Curtis is better." Shiraishi, being the kind senpai, explained.

"Oooooh… so that girl went to Curies?"

"Not Curies, Curtis." Shiraishi corrected.

"That's cool~" With dazzling eyes Kintarou looked at Miho. Miho wanted to cringe but stopped herself. On second thought, the boy looked pretty cute.

"So respect her alright brats?" Ryuuzaki made a strict face and shouted. "Conductor, I must be leaving right now. I'll have my granddaughter Sakuno take care of some things for you. You can ask the musicians too. The rehearsal time's usually around two o'clock. You're just in time."

"Alright." She nodded and Ryuuzaki left the building, leaving the bewildered musicians behind.

"No way, you're the conductor?" Eiji exclaimed and hopped on over to her, inquiring her closely.

"Yes. Nice to meet you."

"Excuse me, but… how old are you?" Ootori politely asked, which Miho liked.

"I'm twenty-two." She answered flatly. They all broke out into mumbles and whispers, amused and shocked by her.

"Aahn~? Then you're the same age as Ore-sama." Atobe said. Miho did _not_ have a good first-impression of this guy. Why did he call himself in an honorific term anyways?

"It seems so." She again answered flatly. "Anyways, I'll go put my things away; I'll meet you all in the rehearsal hall at two."

"Well then…" Sakuno trailed off. "I'll show you your suite and office. Follow me."

The guys watched her walk away; after she was out of sight they all began mumbling simultaneously.

"Uwaaa~ How chilly~" Eiji said.

"She reminds me of Tezuka." Oshitari said, chuckling a little. "She's like a walking statue."

"But I'm glad that we have someone like her as our conductor for the first time ever!" Niou exclaimed.

"Yeah, she was pretty cute too."

"I wonder what instrument she plays!" Kintarou exclaimed. "Ne, Koshimae! Aren't ya curious?"

"Not really…" Ryoma yawned. "It's not like she could last more than a week with senpai-tachi acting like that all the time." He said, bringing back the memories of the past few conductors who were cruelly abused by Niou's dubious tricks and pranks.

She followed Sakuno upstairs; she opened a door to a big suite with nice furniture. After she set her things down, she moved onto another room, her office, on the top floor. The office was nice too, with big windows, a piano, music stand, speakers, and such.

"Do you like the rooms?" Sakuno asked, smiling.

"I do." She said, with not much expression change. "I don't see any female musicians. Is there an exception?"

"Ah! You must've been surprised." She giggled. "Obaa-chan forgot to mention… Since All-Japan Orchestra is founded by an all-boys conservatory school, the graduates come here directly from it. So even if girls want to get in, there's no room for more people other than the boys. But that's also the same for the other orchestra named International Japan Orchestra, which is composed only of girls."

"I see." Then she checked the time; the clock was pointing 1:45.

"Well, you can always find me in the room next to yours." Sakuno said, as she opened the room to exit. "Ask me anything you want! I am the co-organizer, by the way."

"Thank you."

"Woohoo~! We have a woman~!" Momoshiro exclaimed, flailing around much to exuberantly. "AAAANDDD she's not too bad, too!"

"You're so crass, peach-ass." A scary-looking guy said.

"What did you say, Mamushi?"

"Well well, this is interesting." Niou said, rocking back and forth on the chair. "Man, we totally missed that prank…"

"Mada mada dane." Echizen said while drinking ponta.

"This is indeed quite interesting." Yanagi said. "I wonder about her capabilities. I say that we all attend the first rehearsal." Most people nodded along, for they actually did wonder if the girl, not to mention the same age as them, had enough capabilities to become a conductor at such young age.

"Whaaaat~ I was planning on ditching…" Akaya cursed.

"Akaya." Sanada glared at the boy.

"S-Sorry."

"Anyways, it's almost 2 o'clock. We should head to the rehearsal hall. I wonder if we're even playing today…" Fuji wondered, grabbing his flute. Everyone, with either excited chatters or frustrated groans, left the social room and headed to the rehearsal hall.

Miho walked around, looking for the rehearsal hall. As much as All Japan Orchestra was supposedly composed of the best musicians, the building was just too goddamn big. She felt like she was at the same place over and over again. Miho kept calling herself stupid for not asking that Sakuno girl before she left to the hall; it was too late now.

"Ara? Aren't you… the conductor, Haraue-san?" A nice, rather feminine voice called out. Thankful, she turned around and found a pretty, nice-looking blue-haired boy. "Hi. I'm Yukimura Seiichi."

"Ah, the concert master, correct?"

"Yes." He smiled, glad to be acknowledged.

"Hello. Do you know where the rehearsal hall is by any chance?"

"Of course. I was on my way there. Follow me, I'll show you." He smiled nicely and started walking. "So, what are we going to play today?" He asked, curious.

"What did you guys play so far?"

"We played… Mozart Symphony in G minor, some Beethoven and Shostakovich." He replied, thinking. "Although… not a lot of players love it too much." He chuckled smugly. Indeed; half of the musicians didn't like playing boring, out-there classy pieces.

"That's quite an interesting selection… did the last conductor choose it?" She raised her eyebrows and said, curious why people didn't find such fine selection of music interesting.

"Yeah."

"I see."

They arrived at the hall; with mumbles and chatters filling in the room, everyone hushed down as Miho appeared and walked to the podium. The eyes trailed the girl and Yukimura sat on the first chair for concert masters.

"Hi." She said, looking around the boys who were either grinning or spacing out.

"Hello~!"

"Hi."

Hello's and Hi's came back, and Miho immediately knew: they were bored.

"Well, I don't really think I have anything to introduce… I've been notified that we have to hold a concert soon, in about two months. So I won't waste any time and start rehearsing starting today." She said, and groans broke out. "Any questions about me or things of concern before we move on to play?"

"How old are you again?" Someone from the back section shouted out and asked.

"I'm twenty-two years old. Freshly graduated." She answered, and the guys started cooing or whistling ans such.

"What instrument do you play?"

"I play the violin, cello, and piano."

"Whoa, she plays a lot."

"How should we address you?"

"Just my last name's fine. I don't need honorifics, since I am around your age."

"Do you have a boyfriend?" Someone shouted out and everyone laughed.

"No I don't." She simply answered, again earning suggestive coos. Men; all they think of is women.

"Which ones are we going to play?"

"The pieces that you've played with your former conductor before."

People started groaning again.

"Alright, no whining. Let's start with Mozart." She flipped through the score and raised her conductor stick.

She raised her hand—and struck down for the first beat. They started together, which was a sign of professionality. First it started out with a unison of upbeats in G, then D, then E flat, then F; then arpeggios, then scales. She honestly didn't like Mozart a lot. And from the looks of it, people weren't trying to play well either, being bored and all.

"Stop." She said, putting down her stick. "No dynamic contrast, no technical separations between the notes."

People started yawning and talking. Now she knew why they were driving the conductor nuts.

"Let's start from the top." She commanded.

The rehearsal went for only 30 minutes. No matter what she couldn't motivate the musicians. Troubled, she walked to her room then ran into someone—

"Haraue-san." A boy with lavender hair and a mole under his eye said. Miho decided at first that she did not like his attitude. She'll see. "Hello. I'm Atobe Keigo." He said and put out his hand to shake hers, which she did. She could just feel pride and ego itself emitting from this guy.

"Please, cut the formalities." She said, trying not to sound annoyed.

He was with Yukimura, the nice sweet guy, Shiraishi, an overly handsome guy, Sanada, an old-looking dude, and Tezuka, also an old-looking dude.

"Hello, I'm Shiraishi Kuranosuke."

"Tezuka Kunimitsu."

"Sanada Genichirou."

"Hello, it's nice to meet you."

"We came to apologize for some... distraction today." Tezuka said.

"Please, it's not really your fault."

"True. But… It's really hard to attract interest in our orchestra." Yukimura said smugly, trying to put it the best way possible.

"I've noticed." She replied simply. "I guess I'll have to find an alternative."

* * *

**Hello dear readers. This is another short-ish fiction that I started after You and I, In this World. **

**This fiction will base solely on the elements of music, no less and no more. So far the pairing is not decided; I will request any suggestions or votes from the following list of people:**

**Echizen Ryoga**

**Shiraishi Kuranosuke**

**Sanada Genichirou**

**Tokugawa Kazuya**

**Echizen Ryoma**

**Again, other characters are always welcomed. I will try to avoid common xOC characters, so do consider that I'll be likely to avoid Yukimura, Atobe, and Niou since I already used him in my prior fic.**

**More suggestions and feedback help me write; so leave a review and subscribe. Thanks and love you all :) **

**-ScherVi**


	2. Day 1

Prince of Music

Chapter 2: Day 1

"I'll have to find an alternative." Miho simply said, but with determination and indignation. She was not going to give up on her first orchestra. Never. She'd swear on her pride.

The four were slightly taken aback at the girl's calmness and tenacious tone. She sounded really serious.

Sanada, in particular, was impressed. Not a lot of conductors were eager to stay after just 10 minutes of their first rehearsals together.

"We'll try the best we could do to help also." Yukimura said and the other three nodded along.

"Anyways, would you like to go on a city tour? We'd love to show you around, perhaps get to know each other better." Shiraishi smiled angelically, almost blinding Miho's eyes. This guy was just too sexy—I mean, attractive.

Miho felt a bit glad by the proposal. Back at Curtis, those who were receiving conductor education were either old snowflakes or middle-aged snowflakes. Honestly, she passed through her college life without a thing called "friends," although she did take care of a stray cat time to time once.

"That'd be nice." She replied, welcoming some company.

"When would you like to go? It's still mid-afternoon, we could go soon if you'd like." He checked his watch and said. He had a nice, silver watch on; he wore a v-neck shirt with plain jeans and a converse. Oohlala, he's got nice style.

"Today it is. I just need to go up to my room and get some things." She said, turning to head to her room.

"You wouldn't mind more company, would you?"

"Not at all."

"I'll wait for you in front of the entrance then." He again smiled nicely, like a gentleman, and walked away with the other three.

Miho hurried upstairs and got ready. She grabbed her keys, cellphone, and wallet. When she headed to the entrance, there was a crowd—quite a big crowd, waiting for her. There were the two from before; then a lot more.

"She's here!" Kintarou hollered, jumping up and down in joy. "Hi Haraue-nee! I'm Tooyama Kintarou! I'm a year younger than you!" He grabbed her hand out of nowhere and started shaking wildly. "Man, that's so cool! Being a conductor and all!" His eyes sparkled.

"Kin-chan, you're making the lady uncomfortable." Shiraishi calmed him down, laughing a little.

"Ahaha, sorry!" He scratched his head smugly and apologized.

"Don't worry about it." She answered. "Anyways, I think now's my good chance to start learning names…"

"I'm Kirihara Akaya. I'm 21." A curly black-haired boy said. Even though his hair was a bit messy and seaweed-like, it was pretty cute. It really was.

"I'm Yanagi Renji, 22." A good-looking boy with closed eyes and hazel hair said. But what's more—his voice was sexy. Just Miho's favorite. And he was the principal oboe player too.

"Niou Masaharu, 22. Puri." A guy with a bushy baby blue hair and a slender rattail with a beauty mole on the chin underneath his lip said. Clarinet principal, not too shabby. But what's with that incomprehensible, meaningless 'puri' at the end?

"Echizen Ryoma. 20." A very handsome boy with dark-green hair and golden eyes said coolly, not much scintillation in his voice.

The musicians introduced themselves one by one. Honestly, Miho didn't quite understand why people left so early when the musicians were really fun and friendly.

"Well then, let's get going, shall we?" Shiraishi said and they started to walk out; it was convenient since downtown area was only a block down from their building.

They arrived at famous shopping district, restaurants, parks and such. She thought these guys were really nice. When they sat to eat some iced coffee, she was eager to ask so many questions.

"It seems like you want to ask us a lot of questions." Yanagi first spoke out, as if he was reading Miho's mind.

"Well… first of all, it seems that you guys don't quite… "take interest" in classical music." She said.

"We don't hate them that much." Akaya answered first.

"Yeah. I actually like them too." Kintarou added.

"Then…?"

"It's just that we want something new. Something fresh. We've already played the same piece at least once, and it's a bit old." Kintarou sipped on his coffee and said. "But we do like them. It's just that we get bored of them easily."

"And it's boring for the cellists, violists, and other parts. Violins usually get the fun parts, and it's mostly them who actually put up with classical music." Shiraishi added also.

"I see. Then… I was wondering… I've heard from someone that you guys already went through 20 or so conductors."

"Sadly, yes." Yukimura chuckled and answered.

"Why?"

"Why…? Hm, that's a rather difficult question." Shiraishi wondered himself.

"It's because we couldn't find a compatible conductor. They all don't deserve to be conductors." Ryoma bluntly put it out there. "And if you're just here for the pay like them, I suggest you leave soon, too. Complaining but always taking care of the money… We don't want to be conducted by a person who's here for impure purposes either. Besides, you're an inexperienced, naïve amateur. I promise you, you'll leave within a week, if not two." He crossed his arms.

"Echiz—" Shiraishi gasped and tried to stop him.

"Well then, I'd have to say—screw this misconception of yours." Miho crossed her arms and legs and glared back at Ryoma. Spark flew between them, and the others were terrified of the situation.

"Now, now—" People around started sweating, looking back and forth at the girl and the violin player.

"Impure purposes? Look honey, I'll tell you what." Miho smirked, and Ryoma slightly blushed as Miho called him _honey_. "I'll show you what a _real_ conductor should be like. And I'll stay a conductor of this orchestra as long as anyone can remember."

Everyone was slightly shocked but glad as well. They wanted those who can actually contribute to their orchestra—they might have just found the right person.

With that in mind, the musicians enjoyed the rest of the day and came back to the conservatory.

So the musicians were bored of the classical pieces. Then what's the purpose of being in an orchestra? Puzzled, Miho went to the practice room, holding her violin case in one hand and cello case over her shoulder.

She quickly tuned her violin and set the music sheet down to practice and clear up her mind. She played the solo piece to Bach's violin concerto in G Minor. It wasn't too fun—she had to yawn after playing couple measures.

'_A fun piece to play… a fun piece that could get their interest back into classical music…'_

Then something just suddenly popped into her head.

"What do you think of her?" They asked as the musicians gathered up in the social lounge.

"She's cute!" Kikumaru beamed and answered.

"She was pretty good when she was conducting Mozart." Fuji acknowledged her and said, smiling.

"She seems really… rigid. And boring." Ryoma said.

"I wouldn't be talking…" Kintarou laughed bitterly and trailed off.

"And that reminds me of Tezuka." Atobe said, smirking. Tezuka gave him a glare.

"Yeah, I don't think I saw her smile at all today."

"But she seems to have the mindset that we've been waiting for." Shiraishi said, smiling from remembering the talk between Ryoma and Miho.

Miho went back to her room and immediately opened up the score cabinet to look for the piece that she had in mind since she exited the hall. She looked through busily, and pulled out a thick score piece.

'_Bingo.'_

She pulled out couple others, in hope that the pieces will satisfy the musicians. Then a knock came on the door. Slightly irritated to be abrupted, she quickly walked to the door and swung it open.

"Yes?" When she answered, Sanada and Tezuka were standing outside.

"There's a welcome party for you at the cafeteria. Please come with us." Sanada politely asked; Miho blinked, and answered:

"Okay." She grabbed her key by the door and went out with the two.

"Haraue-san."

"Please, just call me by the last name." She said and the two nodded.

"How did you come here all the way from Curtis?" Sanada asked. "Surely you could find… more famous orchestras in Europe."

"My purpose isn't to work with famous orchestras. I'm going to make what's mine famous." She said, determination filled in her eyes. "So no matter what people say I'm not going to quit like others before."

"…We look forward to it."

Miho and the two walked into the cafeteria; as soon as the door opened, the light turned on in a dark room, and party poppers popped, confetti flying everywhere. Miho's eyes widened at a rather warm welcome party.

"WELCOME~!" They all yelled, clapping and hollering. Honestly, they were just glad that a girl of their age came as a conductor. Not that they ever expected it, but it was nice having a pretty cute girl for the first time ever, especially since the orchestra itself was composed only of boys.

"Uh… thanks?" Miho said. "I mean, you didn't need to do all this for me." She smugly scratched her head.

"Don't worry don't worry~! We're just trying to have a fun welcome that we couldn't do with other conductors!" Kikumaru said as he put out a cake.

Miho stood there, looking at a cake without candles. Kikumaru just held the cake out and Miho cocked her head a little, curious at what he was doing. Surely, she wasn't supposed to _blow_ any candles since there _weren't _any.

"Come on~ You don't cake people in America?" He said.

"Cake people…?" She trailed off. "Oh you mean—"

"Here goes!" He put the cake right into her face. Everyone cringed but cheered as Kikumaru took off the cake and revealed the lower half of Miho's face which was completely covered in whipped cream. Sanada, Yanagi, and Tezuka just rubbed their temple in irritation, Ryoma and Zaizen just yawned, and the rest cheered or cringed or laughed. It was a pretty dynamic group.

"…" Miho licked the cream a little. "At least it's good. Hold on, can I have that cake for a moment?" Kikumaru handed it to her. As soon as she took it she splattered the cake back onto his face.

"UWWAHH!" He freaked out and got the cake off; people started laughing and began throwing cakes at everyone.

Miho came into the room covered in whipping cream; she didn't have fun like that in a while.

'_Better get started on knowing these musicians…' _She thought and pulled out a file of their resumes. As chaotic as they were, all of them were outstanding musicians—especially the first few chairs of each instruments. Sanada, Shiraishi, and Tezuka won the national competitions countless times. Yukimura, Ryoma, and Atobe even traveled overseas to compete and win. The co-principals and principals from each section in the brass and the winds were all on the worldwide caliber also.

'_Still… we lack people… I should call more musicians.' _

She dialed Ryuuzaki's number.

"_Hello?_" The voice picked up.

"Hello Ryuuzaki-san. It's Haraue."

"_Ah, yes. How was your first day?" _She asked with a bit of worry wearing off.

"Not as bad as I thought."

"_That's quite… interesting." _She chuckled. "_So, do you need anything?"_

"Yes. I was wondering if I could add few more people to the orchestra… just a few more. I think we need a some for the brass and woodwind section."

"_That's a good news. I don't have their numbers with me right now, but there are some potential people's numbers in the first drawer of your desk. You could check them and call them personally." _She said.

"That's great. Thank you, I'll put them in the ensemble as soon as I get a hold of them."

"_Sounds good."_

"Alright. Thank you, bye-bye."

"_Ah, and one more thing—" _She said quickly. _"You should definitely try calling Echizen Ryoma's brother, Echizen Ryoga. He's one hell of a violinist in America, but…" _She trailed off.

"But?"

"_I'm not sure if he's willing enough to come all the way from America to play in the orchestra. You could be lucky and persuade him." _She explained. _"But it's worth a try." _

"I see. Thank you for the information."

She immediately opened the drawer and began dialing.

"Hello, I'm from All Japan Orchestra…"

* * *

**Since everyone wants all sorts of different characters for the pairing, I'll probably choose randomly from those selections... soon. **

**Do leave a review.**


	3. Day 2

Prince of Music

Chapter 3: Day 2

"_Hello?"_

"Hello, I'm from All Japan Orchestra." Miho said as soon as someone picked up. "This is Tokugawa Kazuya-san's phone, correct?"

"_Yes." _The man on the other side curtly answered.

"I'm from All Japan Orchestra. Are you in any orchestras at this moment, Tokugawa-san?"

"_Not of the moment. I am finding one right now." _

"Then we have a spot open for you." She rejoiced inside but said collectedly. "I was wondering if I could scout you. I'm sure you've heard of All-Japan Orchestra?"

"_I have. I guess it's worth a try… Do I need to audition?" _ He asked.

"I would like to hear you play, at least. You are a cellist, correct?"

"_Yes."_

"Then please just find a piece that you are confident in and sent in the recording to my email as soon as you're ready. Would you like to write my e-mail address down?"

"_Sure." _There was a rustle. _"Go ahead."_

So after telling him her email, she called few more excellent musicians that were not associated into any orchestras yet. She took a bit of a break, looking through some music CDs in the office. Then something caught her eyes.

"Echizen Ryoga…? He released a CD?" She put the CD in the player. The piece was the violin concerto in D minor by Sibelius. As soon as the first note, G, rang out—

Miho began immediately dialing Echizen Ryoga's number while listening to the melodies further on.

"_**Hello?**__" _A rather energetic, playful voice came from speaker. He spoke English, which Miho knew. She stopped the recording and spoke:

"**Hello, I'm Haraue Miho from All Japan Orchestra. You are Echizen Ryoga-san, correct?"**

"_That I am." _He said, switching to Japanese after mentioning "All Japan Orchestra." _"Huh, I wonder why you called me?"_

"Are you in any orchestra at the moment? In America?"

"_No, not really." _

"Then I'd like to scout you. Not that it would've mattered if you were in one anyways." She boldly said.

"_Scout, huh..."_ He trailed off. _"Well I need to join orchestra soon or later… but I'm not flying all the way there just to audition."_

"You don't have to." She said.

"_Huh?"_

"I listened to your Sibelius concerto; I'd like to put you in my orchestra. Please join." She said again. There were a few seconds of silence.

"_And what makes you so confident that I'll go?" _

"Because I can and will make this orchestra famous. It'll worth you coming here." With confidence she said.

"…_Hm." _He pondered. _"Well, I was going to go visit Japan anyways starting tomorrow. But I'm going there for my vacation, so I really don't want to deal with any work." _He said. _"But… I'll make an exception. Let's see if you can impress me, conductor."_

"Then where should I meet you?"

"_Two days from now, 6 o'clock dinner, at the restaurant on top of the Tokyo star tower. Do you know where it is?" _

"Yes."

"_Then, day after tomorrow it is. Your name was…?" _

"It's Haraue Miho."

"_Pretty name. Then, Haraue-san. I'll be expecting you." _

"Thank you for considering." Miho hung up and sighed; this guy wasn't exactly the most… easy guy to work with.

But his recording of the violin concerto made Miho's heart race. His tone, his transition from note to note, his rhythm, his articulation, his dynamic contrasts, his vibrato—everything was perfect. It was what she could call a real art.

She didn't encounter many talented, _young_ musicians recently—but she found one just that day.

Miho was, in fact, a praised musician back when she used to attend Curtis. She was even invited to play solos for many orchestras including the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and San Francisco Philharmonic Orchestra. She even had recordings of her concerts printed in CD, and it sold pretty well.

Just because she was young she wasn't as renowned yet; but she was an outstanding violinist. And on top of that, she played other instruments as hobbies; she just liked to play around with instruments and learn them.

'_It also sounded like the violin itself was speaking…' _She thought, resuming the recording. After about half a minute, the mood changed; then as the speaker rang out with an extremely fast, almost a grace-note-like, clean and precise arpeggio, Miho felt her hair stand up, getting goose bumps. Now she _really_ wanted him.

She indulged herself into the music, sitting and relaxing on a sofa.

She thought back to the previous time of the day when she found some possible pieces that they could play: Sibelius concerto which she was listening at the moment, Shepherd's Hey by Grainger, Danse Bacchanale by Saint Saens, and Gustav Holst's Planet Suite. She found dozens more by researching and asking the conductors she played solo with.

She had a whole list in front of her—and she was excited to conduct all of them.

It was getting late; the clock's hour hand was pointing 12 and she got ready to go to her suite. She walked down the corridor and admired the interior that she didn't quite notice before.

"Haraue?" Someone called her. She looked to find Sanada, Atobe, Tezuka, Yukimura, Yanagi, and Shiraishi.

"Ah, good evening." She said.

"Would you like to join us? We were just talking about you and the orchestra; we'd like to talk to you about some things." Yanagi invited.

"Sure." She said and walked over to the counter.

"What would you like?"

"What do you suggest?"

"Are you good with alcohol?"

"A little." She shrugged. "Give me anything that you're good at making."

"Then a cocktail is fine." He smiled and started taking out the ingredients.

"We were wondering what your plan is for our orchestra." Sanada said first. "As you see, our orchestra has many talented musicians. But as talented as they are, they're hard to… work with often times."

"Yes; and we're not doubting your skills, but… everything you said is easy said than done." Yukimura added also.

"We're in a hurry to find someone who could really get us to start holding concerts and such. We've been getting warnings from Music Associations to disband our orchestra if we're not going to profit by performing." Atobe said, finishing his glass of cocktail.

"What?" She frowned. "And when did this happen?"

"Not too long ago; it was about a day or two before you came." Tezuka said.

"So our point is, no offense intended at all," Yukimura continued, "if we're going to waste more days and weeks and end up failing to cooperate with a conductor… it'd be better to just disband or just join another orchestra."

"…" Miho kept quiet. "Then let me assure you," she opened her mouth. "that such kind of case will never happen again. I already have several things in mind and I'm going full-on starting tomorrow."

They all stared at her.

"Don't worry about having to fail with me; I can make it work." She said.

"She sounds confident. Maybe we should really trust her." Shiraishi said and smiled, handing her a lime-yellow cocktail. "Lime juice cocktail, enjoy."

"Thank you." She took the drink and sipped it. "Yes, this is my very first orchestra—and that's what makes me more eager to make it a better orchestra. Inexperience? That's nothing compared to competency and will."

They looked at each other and nodded a little. It looks like they were convinced.

"I guess then, Haraue, thank you in advance." Yukimura smiled and said.

* * *

Miho woke up that morning feeling extremely light and fresh. That cocktail Shiraishi made was really good. When she checked the clock it was about 7 o'clock; she usually never slept in.

She was a very ascetic person with strict set of moral codes. She woke up early, got her work done without procrastinating, and had pride. The last thing she would do is to grovel at someone's feet.

And for the most part, she believed in being herself. She didn't put on make-ups, she didn't try to sugarcoat herself in front of others. That's why she hated two-faced people so much when she went to high school.

She walked into the bathroom, took a shower, and changed. After that she went to the kitchen and found some food already there for her; she took a pancake powder and mixed in water. She also brewed some coffee.

' _I need to go shopping now that I think of it.' _She thought as she prepared her pancakes.

That day she was going to have some of the new people audition; one was a flutist, and he was going to come at nine o'clock to play for her.

After she ate breakfast, listened to some music while reading a book, it became around nine. She went to the rehearsal hall to hear the flutist play.

At exactly 9 o'clock, the door opened and a young man with blond curly hair and glasses walked in.

"Irie Kanata-san?" She stood up and said.

"Yes, that's me…" He said, looking around. "Is the conductor not here yet?"

"I'm the conductor, Haraue Miho."

"You are?" He looked surprised. Well, it's not that she didn't expect it. "That's a… surprise."

"I get that a lot. Whenever you are ready, Irie-san." She sat down and Irie walked to the small stage. He took out his flute, assembled it, and put his music on the stand.

He started the scales that she made it a requirement; a clean, nice sound rang out. After the three-octave scale, he played a flute excerpt. It seemed like a solo piece; she didn't quite know it because she wasn't a flutist, but as she looked at the score he was very precise in rhythm and articulation.

After he ended, she looked up. "Great; my comment would be, just be more expressive with dynamics. This piece seems like it's from the romantic period; dynamic is crucial." He nodded along to her criticism. "Especially if you happen to play solos with us, you'll need to pay attention to that."

"Wait, so…"

"You're in."

He broke into a smile.

"Thank you!" He said. "Um, may I know how old you are…?"

"I'm a year younger than you, 22."

"Wow." He was impressed. "Well anyways, thanks again for letting me in. I'll do my best."

"That's good to hear. You can come starting tomorrow; if you contact the other number I gave you the other day, she'll help you with moving in and things."

"Alright. Then, I'll be seeing you starting tomorrow! Thank you very much!" He said as he exited.

"No, thank you." She said. In the same room she waited for the next person; he was a bass player named Oni Jyuujirou.

The door opened and a tall, built man with auburn hair and rather mature facial feature walked in.

"Oni Jyuujirou-san?" She stood up and asked.

"Yes." He answered and looked around. "Where is the conductor?"

"I'm Haraue Miho, the conductor. Nice to meet you." She said. He stood there and blinked with a blank expression on his face.

"You?" He pointed directly at her and asked. "You were the one on the phone?"

"Yes. Anyhow, let's get started with your auditions. Please get on the stage."

* * *

She went through couple minutes of rehearsals. After she was done it was lunch time; when the final person left, Sakuno came to the rehearsal room.

"Haraue-san!" She chirped. "Let's go eat outside! I know a really good noodle place!"

"Alright." She packed her things and got ready to leave.

"I also called this other girl from this one choir ensemble. She comes here often, so I thought you'd make good friends with her!" She said.

"I'm looking forward to it."

They walked down the usual hall. As they turned the corner, they ran into Yukimura who was with Akaya.

"Ah, hello you two." He greeted with his never-fading smile. Quite the exact opposite of Miho.

"Hi guys." Akaya greeted also.

"Hello." She said.

"Hi!" She greeted also.

"We're going to go out to eat lunch; want to come with us?" Akaya said.

"Oh, sorry, we're going for a lunch too. I have a plan with An-chan."

"That's fine. This An girl's Tachibana's sister, right?" Yukimura asked.

"Yup." She smiled and answered.

"Then maybe another time." He said, smiling at the two. Miho and Sakuno nodded, bid farewell, and left to the parking lot.

"Yukimura-senpai, have you noticed that Haraue-san hasn't smiled at all since she came?" Akaya whispered as they continued to walk.

"YO!" Kikumaru and Jirou ran towards them and tackled them. "What's this sketchy talk~?" Jirou asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"It's about Haraue-san." Akaya replied.

"Haraue?"

"Yeah. Have any of you seen her smile?" He asked.

"Nope, not me." Kikumaru answered, putting his hands behind his head.

"Me neither."

"Now that you mention it… I haven't seen her smile." He pondered and answered. "She's one of Tezuka's or Sanada's kind, I believe."

"Geh, that's… not… good." Akaya gulped and said, cringing a little. He did like the two and looked up to them; it's just that as a person, they weren't the most playful types that Akaya were fond of. Especially Sanada—because they were in the same classes when they attended college, Sanada was like the scary teacher who'd never let Akaya fail at anything. Akaya was stuck between appreciation and pure horror.

"Uwaa, a copy of Tezuka~? That's the worst…" Kikumaru gasped and said.

"I just hope that she's not mostly like Sanada-senpai."

"Achoo!" Miho sneezed as she got in the car. _'Is someone talking about me…'_

* * *

_**PIECE OF THIS CHAPTER IS...**_

_**Violin Concerto in D minor, 1st movement by Jean Sibelius**_

_**It's from the romantic period, very garnished and embellished with peculiar notes and rhythms; it is one of the must-play pieces for professional violinists. It is technically, rhythmically, and musically challenging. **_

_**I personally prefer the one played by Hilary Hahn. Look up her version of the piece when you happen to search up on YouTube!**_

_**This music I personally suggest!**_

_**Then until the next update, thanks and love you all :)**_

_**-ScherVi**_


	4. First Step

Prince of Music

Chapter 4: First Step

Miho and Sakuno drove to a noodle place in downtown shopping district. They parked, got out of the car, and went into the restaurant—

"Sakuno, over here!" A girl with a short brown hair waved from the table inside.

"There she is." She said and the two walked to the table. "This is my friend, An." Sakuno smiled and introduced the girl.

"Hi! I'm Tachibana An." She stood up, and gave Miho a friendly hug.

"I'm Haraue Miho."

The three sat down; An put on a grin, leaned onto her hands, and looked at Miho.

"Heeeh~ So the new conductor looks like this!" She marveled. "I really didn't believe Sakuno when she said that you're only 22 but… Now I'm feeling it!"

"I get that a lot." She stated.

"How was your first day or two? Aren't you having a hard time?" She asked worriedly.

"Yesterday wasn't so great—but I've talked to some people. I'm not going to let go of this orchestra." She said, sipping on the water that was dropped off by the waiter.

"That's great to hear."

"You're brother's in my orchestra, right? Tachibana Kippei the bass player?"

"Yup. It looks like you memorized the whole list of the musicians!" She exclaimed and giggled a little.

"Do you play any instruments? What about you, Ryuuzaki?"

"I used to be a bass player like my brother, but…" An trailed off. "It wasn't really my thing, so I switched to vocal." She scratched her head smugly.

"I see. What about you Ryuuzaki?"

"Ah, I don't really practice anything seriously since my job's to manage only, but I do play the violin a little." She said shyly.

"Hehe! She started because she has a big crush on this guy named Echizen Ryoma!" An chuckled evilly and playfully pushed Ryuuzaki's shoulder.

"A-An-chan!" Sakuno flailed around, panicking.

"Don't worry, I won't tell." Miho said, calming her down.

"Promise not to tell!"

"Alright, alright."

The three talked; Miho appreciated the fact that she was able to make acquaintances with girls around her age. Ever since she enrolled into Curtis, she really didn't have any friends, especially girls, around her age because she'd either be studying hard or sleeping. And she wasn't the most social type either.

"How long did you live in America, Miho?" An asked casually; she was already on a first-name basis. But Miho really didn't mind.

"I moved there when I was about seven… So It'd be about 15 years, plus minus." She said.

"That long?" Sakuno and An gasped. "How come your Japanese is so… fluent though? It's not broken that much."

"I practiced speaking and reading a lot… it'd be a shame if I wouldn't be able to speak my own language, right?"

"That's true." The two nodded.

The food came out so the three started eating.

"Miho, did you ever date anyone?" An asked.

"Nope." She replied without much challenge.

"Really? But you're pretty… cute. And pretty. I'm sure a lot of guys would like you!" An said.

"Sounds cliché, but I don't have time to date guys." She stated. "Music is too broad and complex for me to not spend a minute less in it."

"Ooh, dedicated to your job, I see." An ooh'd and nodded.

"How about you? You have a boyfriend?"

"Yeah. I'm dating this guy named Kamio Akira." She grinned happily and said.

"He's a… violinist. First violin."

"Yup!"

"What about you, Sakuno?" She asked, forgetting that she had a crush on Ryoma.

"Eeh, she'll be dating Ryoma-kun soon." An grinned evilly again and teased; Sakuno flushed in red and flailed around again.

"Ah, of course." Miho agreed.

After a few more minutes, they were done eating, and Miho had to go back to make in time for the rehearsal. An bid farewell, promising to hang out again next time.

"She's a fun and nice person." Miho told Sakuno.

"Yup. She's really nice and cute!" Sakuno giggled.

"Say, Ryuuzaki."

"You can call me Sakuno." She said and smiled. "I mean, it sounds like you're referring to my grandma." She said and laughed.

"Alright. You can call me by my name too. It's hard getting used to all these honorific stuff in Japan."

"Yes ma'am~!"

"Anyhow, today evening I have a dinner scheduled with someone."

"Ooh, is it a date?" She asked in curiosity.

"I wouldn't call it a date… It's more like an audition of sort. For me and for him."

"So it's a guy!" She exclaimed and squealed.

"Don't make leaps in logic, Sakuno. He's flying from Japan and while he's here he said that he'd like to see what the orchestra's like. What I'm like." She explained. "And he said that he wanted to talk to me while eating dinner… so I need to look nice."

"So long story short, you need to find a pretty dress."

"Exactly."

"Wait, did you say that the dinner date's this evening?"

"Yeah." Miho nodded slowly.

"Then we need to start looking for them today!" She exclaimed. "Okay. After the rehearsal, we're immediately going to go shopping okay?"

"Sure."

The two drove in silence.

"Is the guy hot?"

When they arrived at the conservatory, Miho was just in time to go to her room, pick up her music, and attend the rehearsal.

"Thanks for today, Sakuno. I had fun."

"No problem! We should go hang out more. I'll see you after the rehearsal then!" She chirped and left.

Miho went up to her room, got her music score, and came down. She then headed to the hall—in hope to get something done that day.

As she stepped in she was greeted by a burst of noises—screeches and harmonics of violins, trumpets blowing out everywhere, flutes ringing, and so on. She sighed mentally; she walked up to the podium, and stood up in order to catch everyone's attention. Gladly, the principals paid attention first—then they quieted everyone around.

"Thank you." Miho stated simply. "From what I know, you are all… 'bored' with the classical pieces." She began. Most musicians nodded. "And I've been informed about the… risk that this orchestra's put at as of this moment."

Everyone once again nodded.

"But don't worry; We'll solve out this problem. We're going to have a concert next month; I have great classical pieces—"

Everyone groaned.

"But I found several pieces that you might enjoy. We're going to play four pieces: Danse Bacchanale by Saint Saens, Shepherd's Hey by Grainger, Carnival Overture by Dvorak, and one other piece that I'm still deciding."

Everyone's faces lit up at the list of selections.

"Sounds good?" Miho asked, looking around, and everyone nodded. "Good. We're going to sigh read only Carnival for now since the parts are challenging. Please have your part ready by the day after tomorrow."

"The day after tomorrow?" Everyone gasped. There were four pieces to practice, and they certainly can't get it down in only two days.

"Yes. We do have a concert coming up and I believe that you all have the potential to get it down." She stated simply. "So, does that sound good?"

There came slow and subtle nods. Then everyone nodded confidently.

"Good." She smiled, satisfied at the confidence; everyone gasped and turned wide-eyed after seeing Miho crack a little smile. "What?" Her smile immediately disappeared.

"N-nothing." Everyone glanced away.

"Alright then. Let's start with Carnival. There should be one in every stand. Does everyone have it on the stand?"

They all nodded.

"Okay then. What's the time signature?"

"Cut time." They said.

"Alright. I'll start off slow." She took her conducting stick and waved her arms at a moderate speed. "Just for now I'll conduct in four. Instruments down on your knees…" She put her hands down and looked around.

She lifted her arms and they all brought up the instruments together.

"One, two, three, four!" The music started at the downbeat after the four; brass section played powerful eighth notes while the violins and the woodwinds played faster sixteenth notes.

The rehearsal continued for about an hour; after switching to a new piece for another hour, the rehearsal ended.

"So, please do practice," Miho said while the musicians packed up their instruments, "and I'll see you all tomorrow."

Miho grabbed her stick, metronome, and the scores and left the podium.

"Haraue!" Yukimura called her and ran to her. "That was great!" He exclaimed, smiling brightly. "I'm glad that everyone liked it!"

"Same here." She replied. "I'm relieved that they're having fun with it."

"I look forward to other pieces as well." He smiled and said. She left to meet Sakuno and went to the mall. She walked into this one expensive shop; she had money to spend, so it wasn't too bad.

"Okay… What should I wear?" Miho asked.

"Well, first will you wear a dress or a skirt? Or even pants?"

"Preferably pants, but…" She trailed off. "I need him to join."

"…" Sakuno blinked. "So you do want to look good, is what you're implying."

"I guess."

"Okay then. Since it's a dinner… I would avoid pants."

"Fine…"

Miho went around and looked for a skirt or a dress; after about an hour, she was able to find a midnight blue one-shoulder dress, shoes and a bag that looked pretty.

"This one!" Sakuno squealed. "Ahh, you look really really pretty!"

"Thanks…?" Miho said. "Well anyways, it's almost four; we should get going."

"Alright!"

Miho returned to the conservatory and changed in her room.

'_Why am I doing this for one person…!' _Miho grumbled as she put on the dress. _'But then again, I _want_ him in the orchestra.'_

She put a very light makeup on, straightened her long hair a bit, and grabbed her bag. She walked towards the exit where Sakuno would be waiting for her.

"Hm?" As Niou noticed something in his peripheral vision, he turned to look at Miho walking—dressed in a midnight dress that showed her curves.

"Huh?" He unknowingly let out; couple other musicians who were hanging out in the social lounge noticed as Niou stared at the hallway. They saw her pass by with a click and clock of her heels—and she disappeared over the wall.

"…" They all remained silent for a few seconds.

"Wasn't that Haraue-san?" Momoshiro blinked and asked the group; they all nodded slowly.

"What the heck?" Kenya exclaimed. "Where's she going dressed all nicely?"

"It's none of our business." Zaizen blurted out.

"B-But! What the heck!" Kenya kept on gawking.

"Why Oshitari, were you mesmerized by her looks?" Niou slyly asked, making Kenya flush in red.

"Sh-Shut up! You were the first one to stare at her!"

"Heh, so you were looking that way from the beginning."

"I was not!"

"Hey, come on you two." Oishi laughed nervously and calmed the two down.

"Anyhow, I won't lie. She is pretty when she wears proper clothes." Niou simply put.

Miho kept on walking; it was pretty hard to walk in heels.

"Ah." She abruptly stopped as she turned the corner and ran into Tezuka. "Sorry."

"No, I'm sorry." He said; although he wasn't really the guy to do such thing, but he scanned her—from head to toe. "Are you… going somewhere?" Attempting to break the awkward silence, he asked.

"Ah, yes." She replied. "I'm meeting someone."

"I see. Oh—and about the rehearsal today," he brought up, "I enjoyed it." He said. "I like your music selections and I'm looking forward to every rehearsals. And thank you, for saving the orchestra."

"…" Miho blinked and stared into the handsome guy's face. Although people did tell her that they had fun, it sounded more convincing and satisfying, hearing from this stoic guy.

"Thanks!" She smiled widely, genuinely happy about the comments he made.

"A-Ah." Tezuka replied as his eyes widened by half a millimeter. "I shouldn't be holding you. Excuse me." He excused himself and walked past her, his cheeks blushed with a very, very, pink hue.

Although her smiles disappeared, Miho left the building feeling extremely happy.

'_Hmm, he's not as thick-headed as I thought.' _

* * *

_**THE PIECE OF THIS CHAPTER IS…**_

_**Carnival Overture by **_**Antonín L. Dvořák**

_**It's known to help people with depression; as you can read "overture," it is a very fast, exciting, Carnival-like piece. However, the origin for this piece is "nature" as it is a part of the trilogy, "Nature, Life, and Love."**_

_**He's a Czech composer, and is from the romantic period, of course. **_

_**Very hard to play for violins, very fun to play for violas like myself. Oh well. In my orchestra we had a pretty hard time, but the solo parts such as the harp part (which I had to play for piano b/c we didn't have a harp player LOL) and the violin part are just so. Amazing.**_

_**Anyhow, if you want an energy boost or a depression cure(?) then the first thing to listen to is Carnival Overture! **_


	5. Of Course

Prince of Music

Chapter 5: Of Course

Miho nervously waited in the car as Sakuno drove. Not that she was nervous about meeting a new person, but more like nervous about his decision to join the orchestra or not.

"Nervous?" Sakuno asked, snapping her out.

"Yeah." She admitted.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine. Even if he doesn't join we got plenty other excellent musicians!" She exclaimed. "For instance, Yukimura-san and Tezuka-san…"

"That is true, but…" She trailed off. "I really want him in my orchestra." She bit her lower lip and said.

"Huhu, it sounds like you really really want him. Is he that good?" She asked.

"…Superb."

Miho got off at the star tower. "Thanks Sakuno."

"No problem. Call me when you're done so I could pick you up!" She said, starting the engine. "Alright then, have a good time~!" She waved and drove off. Miho sighed a little to relieve some tension, and headed towards the building. She checked the clock; it was ten before six, just in time.

She rode the elevator and stepped into a fancy, European-style restaurant.

"Good evening, miss. Have you made any reservations?"

"Yes. Is Mr. Echizen Ryoga here?" She asked and the waiter checked the list of names. "Why yes he is. Follow me this way." He escorted her to a window seat. "He is the gentleman in the black suit and greenish hair." He gestured at the man who was looking out the window. She couldn't see her face—but from the look of it, he seemed pretty similar to Echizen Ryoma.

"I see. Thank you." She said and walked over to the table. "Mr. Echizen Ryoga?" She asked. The man turned around and his dark green eyes met Miho's greyish eyes. He was, for a lack of better words, _handsome._ Perhaps handsomer than Ryoma, at least, in her opinion.

"Yes…?" He stood up slowly and seemed slightly puzzled but nonchalant nonetheless.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Haraue Miho."

He blinked. "You are?"

"Yes."

He didn't say anything for a while. "Well, well… this is a surprise." He smugly scratched his head, but smiled goofily.

"Go ahead and take a seat." He pulled out a chair for her and she sat down.

"Thank you."

"No problem." He grinned and stared into her face.

"May I take orders for the drinks first?" The waiter came and asked.

"Do you drink alcohol, Haraue-san?" He asked and Miho nodded. "Does champagne sound fine?"

"Yes, sure."

"Then we'll have a glass of champagne."

"Very well. The appetizer tonight are mozzarella fries and grilled salmon. Would you like to order an appetizer?"

"I'll have mozzarella fries." Miho said.

"Same."

"Thank you, here are the menus, I will be back in a moment." The waiter bowed a little and left.

"So, how old are you exactly?" He asked first.

"22. I graduated Curtis this year."

Amusement and impressiveness filled his face and he leaned forward and stared at her, making her slightly uncomfortable.

"Very well." He said. "So, what was your proposal for me again?" He leaned back and brought himself further away, giving his dashing and dazzling smile at her.

"It's very simple. My proposal was for you to join the orchestra." She stated simply. "Please join."

"I will." He said coolly and shrugged his shoulders. Miho was surprised that he agreed so quickly; "but under one condition." He said.

'_Ah, of course.' _Miho inwardly rolled her eyes. "What would it be?"

"Do you play any instrument? I assume you do, of course. Something other than piano?" He asked.

"I play piano, violin, and cello." She replied. "Even before I got conductor training I played piano and violin. I started cello after I started to attend college."

"Then, will you play your strong instrument for me?" He asked. "If I could acknowledge you… then I'll join unconditionally from then."

Miho stared at him. Playing for him? She rarely played in front of people without special occasions. But she really didn't have any choice, did she?

"Alright. If you come with me to the conservatory tonight then I'll play for you." She said.

"Great."

* * *

After that they chose the main course, ate, and engaged in a conversation about music, America, and other things they had in common. Miho really wasn't trying to please him, not that it was her style to please anyone.

"I must say though," she began, "your Sibelius concerto is very impressive."

"Oh really? Ahaha." Ryoga grinned smugly and scratched his head. "That's one of only two pieces that I actually made into a CD."

"Which one's the other one?"

"Handel Halvorsen Passacaglia. It didn't sell very well because… well, the other player wasn't very good at that time, and violists were pretty rare too."

"I see." She nodded.

"How about you? Did you release any CDs?"

"I released about a dozen. The best sold one was La Campanella for both piano and violin."

"That's a really fun and hard piece to play. Best sold, was it?" He asked, curious like a little kid.

"Yeah. It actually sold quite well. Around five million perhaps…?"

"Wow, that's a lot." Ryoga marveled at the number. "Now I'm more excited to hear you play."

'_Of course. I'll show you the best I've got, Echizen Ryoga… And I'll definitely make you join!' _She thought in her mind.

* * *

"I'll drive you there. Could you tell me the address?" Ryoga said, taking her to the parking lot after finishing up their dinner. She told him the address and he put it in his navigation. His car was extremely nice: a Ferrari, or Lamborghini, perhaps.

"Alright, let's go." He stepped on the pedal.

"Say, Haraue-san." Ryoga said. "Do you have a boyfriend?" He glanced a little and asked playfully. A bit _too_ playfully.

"…I do not." She answered after contemplating for a bit.

"I don't either." He glanced again, this time turning his head a bit sideways to face her more, and said as he smirked a little.

"And your point?" She scoffed and asked;

"…Just saying." He smirked again and looked ahead.

After couple minutes they arrived at the conservatory. Miho took him to the main stage, sat him down, and made him wait while she got her violin.

Ryoga whistled and looked around the main performance hall as he sat down on the first row, right in the middle; it wasn't too shabby. Quite nice, actually. It suit his taste.

"Excuse me." Ryoga turned as he heard a low voice of a man. When he looked at the seating entrance, a brown-hazel haired man with glasses was coming down. "You don't seem to be in this conservatory, may I help you?" He asked.

"Oh, no, it's fine. I'm just waiting for som—ah, there she is." He said as he saw a woman enter with a violin case with his peripheral vision.

"Haraue…?" Tezuka mumbled.

"Ah, hello, Tezuka." She greeted as she put down her violin on the concert master's chair, clicking the button and unzipping the zipper to open the case.

"What are you…?" He frowned a little and said.

"First of all, meet Echizen Ryoga. He's a very excellent violinist." She gestured at him and said.

"Hello, it's Echizen Ryoga." Ryoga stood up from his seat and put his hand out to handshake.

"…Tezuka Kunimitsu." He answered and shook, a bit skeptical.

"And he will be joining us shortly. I've recruited him also." She said, putting the shoulder rest on the violin.

"Hou… and what makes you so confident that I'll join?" Ryoga amusingly asked.

"Just listen." She said as she began to tune her violin.

"What's going on?" Tezuka asked, very curious of the situation.

"Shh." Miho closed her eyes and began to tune her A string—without a tuner, of course.

"I said that if I could be impressed with her performance, then I'd join this orchestra." Ryoga whispered to Tezuka.

'_If she could impress this guy…?' _Tezuka thought. _'Just who is this?' _

"Just who ar—"

"Shhh." Ryoga hushed him as Miho put her bow up on the string to begin her performance. When she pulled the bow, she rang out a G;

'_That's…!' _Ryoga and Tezuka both widened their eyes as the melody progressed. _'That's Sibelius concerto…!'_

Ryoga felt very amused. He was challenged. By a very talented one, too. Her sounds were clear and loud, soft and fuzzy when needed. Her postures were flawless, tone precise, articulation and rhythm carefully played out.

She closed her eyes the whole time, and moved along to the melody.

Meanwhile, just as Ryoga was, Tezuka was amused and struck as well. He didn't expect her to be this great of a player.

'_No wonder she graduated at such young age…' _Tezuka thought as she moved on to the arpeggios.

As she ripped off a G minor arpeggio, Ryoga felt chills creep up his back. _'They're more precise than mine…' _He bit his nails a bit and thought.

Tezuka's heart was beating fast—_real _fast. He, although has been a friend of Yukimura's for as long as he could remember, didn't hear someone young produce such prestigious, perfected sound. Her delicate fingers, her eyes furrowing a little time to time, her movement, her wrists snapping for every bowing all seemed to… captivate him.

The piece was done; although there was no symphony to give her a background music, she still sounded splendid—at least to the two, she did.

Ryoga stood up and clapped.

"Very, very impressive, Haraue-san." Ryoga said, walking up towards the stage.

"Does that mean you will be joining?" She took no time and asked.

Ryoga chuckled—this woman did not know when to give up. "Of course. Thank you in advance from hereon, conductor." He put his hand out, and Miho shook confidently—a wide smile swept across her face, different smile from what Tezuka witnessed slightly the time before.

"Heh, so you knew how to smile." Ryoga said, a bit surprised since she didn't smile at all when they had dinner together. "And a bit confidently too, if I should say…"

"Of course. You'd be coming here one way or another." She said with a prideful smile. Ryoga chuckled more; he liked this woman's personality although it seemed to be the total opposite of his.

"Well then, welcome to the orchestra."

* * *

**The piece of this chapter is...**

**La Campanella by Franz Liszt! **

**It's originally a piano piece, which the melody was taken from a violin concerto. If you go on youtube, the very first one that pops out is the best interpretation, in my opinion. **

**It's composed of variations of the unifying melody. Some are sentimental, some are exciting. If you feel angry then listen to it; it calms you down but brings out the emotion also. Meh, that wasn't the best reason... I listen to it when I'm pissed off :P **

* * *

**Sorry if I didn't update for so long; all my other fics (Lucifer of Rikkaidai, You and I, In this World, and such) will not update until after early June because of school and SATs and such. **

**I will definitely finish every single fiction I've started, however. Some are just put into priority over other and some are not, but everything will be done... after early June. **

**Well, since I didn't write as much, I could reply to the reviewers! **

**SasoLOVE111: Thank you for writing reviews so regularly! I appreciate it a lot :D Ahaha, thank you for liking Miho and Ryoga, and I have to agree, Ryoga is a very refreshing character. I think his personality stands out a lot even though there are like, 50 gazillion tennis players ^^;; Anyhow, thank you very much! :D **

**.: That's exactly what I was hoping to hear! My goal is to write something that people will remember as being "peculiar" and "new." **

**32692010: Wow, a lot of reviews! Thanks, I'll keep some in mind but I really don't fuss over grammar as much... but so many good points to learn from, I appreciate it a lot! :DD**

**Silver-Cat20: I totally agree, sometimes I think some of the guys are getting OC. But I will try my best! :) Thank you for reading/reviewing for this fic and other fic as well!**

**ace1queen: Yayayayay I started using the line breaks! I should really get this into the habit, huh? xD Anyhow, here's Miho's solo! I definitely looked forward to Ryoga vs. Miho accountance...(?) ahaha. **

**windwolf1988: Yay thank you! Please keep on supporting! :D **


	6. Minor Troubles

Prince of Music

Chapter 6: Minor Troubles

Tezuka woke up feeling extremely queer. He dreamed about her last night—yes, _her_, the conductor who played Sibelius concerto with such perfection and precision. In his dream, she was playing his favorite piece, Mendelsohn's violin concerto in E minor, and he wanted to hear what the real version from her sounded like.

He walked out to get breakfast from the cafeteria downstairs; he walked with his hands in his pockets, looking at the ground, still a bit sleepy. He was usually an early riser-but he couldn't get any sleep the night before because the images and sounds of her lingered in his mind.

Then a door clicked not so far away from him; someone walked over to his side.

"Good morning."

Tezuka was surprised by the voice; it was none other than the conductor, Haraue Miho. Speak of the devil.

"Good morning." He answered before he could stutter. She had black leggings on with a white, long t-shirt down to her mid-thighs. He had to admit, she looked cute and tiny in that outfit.

"Where are you going so early in the morning?" He asked.

"Just getting some music files from the library." She answered.

"…Did you…" He hesitated a little. "Did you eat breakfast?" He asked.

"Ah, nope. I should though." She answered. She was pretty hungry too.

"You're welcome to join us in the cafeteria. It's not only for the musicians, so…" He trailed off. "I was heading over there too."

"Alright, I guess I'll go over too then." She said and the two started walking together. Tezuka was nervous for some reason, probably because he wanted to ask about the performance the night before—how she was able to play it so beautifully, and whether or not she has any intention of playing Mendelssohn concerto for him.

He took a furtive glance at her—he didn't see her with her hair down. But that morning not only was her hair down but she also had a ribbon headband around her head. And he thought, it looked _good._ (In Tezuka's language)

She turned to see him too and realized that he'd been staring at her for a while now.

"Is something on my face?" She asked, touching her cheeks a little.

"Ah—no, it's just…" He thought, thinking of the best way to phrase his sentence. "I was wondering… about last night. I just wanted to say, you sounded beautiful."

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT?" Then a voice rang out in the hall. The two flinched in surprise and turned to find Jirou and Eiji with the most shocked look on their faces.

"TE-TE-TE-TE-TE…!" Eiji and Jirou pointed at him and stuttered, shaking out of their wits.

"HOW COULD YOU!" Jirou exclaimed too, pointing his finger at him.

"HOW COULD YOU LAY A HAND ON THE CONDUCTOR ALREADY!" They shouted simultaneously.

"Huh?" The two said out of confusion.

Then Tezuka, who understood where they were getting at, blushed in thousand shades of red.

"It's not like that." His voice raised a little.

Miho then got flustered too, understanding the naughty nuance a little late.

"Yeah, it's not like that." She said.

"I just heard her play the violin yesterday, that's all." He explained himself. Then getting it, the two made an "ooh" face after a long awkward moment of silence.

"A- Ahaha, how awkward~" Jirou laughed smugly.

"Nevermind! Sorry!"

The two ran downstairs ahead of Miho and Tezuka.

"Oh, man…" Miho groaned a little.

"Don't mind it. They're just hard to understand sometimes." Tezuka said, glad that she didn't make any big deal out of it.

Feeling more awkward Tezuka became more reserved, which Miho didn't quite mind. When they reached the cafeteria together, everyone was eating and chattering.

"Kurobana!" Shiraishi, who was facing their direction, first noticed her and waved gleefully. Miho waved gently too, to all the musicians who gathered for breakfast.

"Good morning everyone."

"Good morning~" they all replied.

* * *

They had a quick meeting before lunch; while she was checking attendance, she noticed that Ryoga wasn't there. She sighed a little but nonetheless began the meeting.

"Where should we hold the concert?"

"We usually go to the concert hall in downtown Tokyo. Well we went there once." Shiraishi suggested and laughed.

"And how much should the tickets be?"

"I'd say… 20 for general, 40 for balcony seats, and 50 for the front seats. We should keep it low priced so that people can get the chance to know us first." Sakuno the skilled manager suggested and everyone nodded.

After 30 minutes of meeting the band dispersed to get lunch outside. Even then she still couldn't see Ryoga and when she checked the parking lot, his car was still there.

She dialed his number—

"_Hello…?" _A droopy, half-asleep voice picked up.

"Where are you?" She asked. "The rehearsal's going to start in two hours, and it's lunch time right now. Are you still asleep?"

"…_Kuuuu…" _He'd fallen asleep. While he was talking on the phone. Miho hung up irritatingly and tried to calmly walked over to his room. She knocked on his door.

"Echizen-san." She spoke towards the door. No answer for couple of seconds. She knocked again. Then no answer. She banged this time—

"The door's open~" The voice came from inside. He had no intention of getting out of bed.

'_Do I seriously have to be this guy's nanny…' _She grumbled as she turned the knob and opened the door. She walked in and found this guy—half naked on top—sleeping soundly. He was covering his eye with his one hand, his other hand lying freely on the bed.

'_Ugh, a great sight to see in the morning,'_ she grumbled inside, frowning a little at his naked top. "Wake up, Echizen-san. It's already 12 in the noon." She said and walked over to the curtains—opened it up, making sunlight shine directly onto the bed.

"Ugh…" He groaned a little and covered his head with the blanket.

"Come on, wake up." Miho said and walked over to the bed.

Then, an arm snatched her by the wrist and pulled her toward s the bed.

"AAHH!" She yelped. The next thing she noticed was Ryoga's head resting on her shoulder, _still_ sleeping, and his arm holding onto her wrist and his other arm enwrapping her waist.

"Haaa…" She sighed heavily—she was feeling a huge migraine coming. She tried to get off—but of course, Ryoga was a male.

"Echizen-san. You need to get up. You didn't even have breakfast and you're about to miss lunch. And a rehearsal." She reasoned to a sleeping person. But she knew—he was awake, pretending to sleep.

He carefully opened his one eye—and made an eye contact with her. She intensely gazed at him to make him feel nervous.

"Aww man…" He groaned and rubbed his head on her shoulder and neck.

"And I would appreciate it if you'd let me go."

"Fine…" He let her go and she sighed in relief.

"Now get out of bed, head over to your bathroom."

"Alright, I'm up." He got out of bed and walked over to the bathroom.

"I'm going to wait outside until you're done so I could make sure you eat and come to rehearsal." She strictly said.

"Yes ma'am."

She walked out of his room—and her heart then started beating uncontrollably.

'_That retard…!' _She shouted in her mind.

After she was done complaining about Ryoga and his rather misleading action, he came out of the room, fresh and lively.

"Ahaha, sorry for before, Haraue!" He laughed. "I'm just really unaware when I'm half-asleep!"

"Sure." Miho scoffed a little and started walking towards the cafeteria.

"But still…" he trailed off. "I can't believe you didn't freak out after seeing my gorgeously built body." He said suggestively and she scoffed again. "You know, many girls fawn over it."

"What body." She half-closed her eyes and gave him a condescending look. "And what girls."

"Oof, that hurt!" He clenched his chest and laughed again, like a kid. "Oh, and I have a favor of you." He said.

"I'll see what I could do."

"I want you to wake me up every morning." He said.

"…"

"…"

"What…" She made a wft-face and said.

"Well, I really can't get up in the morning, you see. I just sleep through alarms too…"

"I thought you joined unconditionally."

"I did." He said. "I'm just asking you a favor. I would do it myself if I could, but I can't, and I might even miss rehearsals if someone doesn't wake me up. "

"Why is it me." She asked. "You have your brother Echizen Ryoma."

"Because you seem like the type to wake up early. And you're the closest I know in this orchestra besides Ryoma... but he sleeps in too."

"…" She groaned and buried her face onto her palm. "Fine."

"Cool." He grinned, his teeth showing.

"Where do we get lunch? I'm suuuper hungry."

"You have to buy it outside, of course." She said as a matter-of-fact.

"Oh, really…? Man, I kinda want real Japanese food right now."

"I know a good place." She said.

"Really? Then let's go!" He dragged her by the arm then out to the parking lot.

"Wai—"

"Come on, it's my treat."

"Bu—"

"Let's go~"

When Miho realized she was sitting in that same restaurant that Sakuno took her to meet An. And then when she snapped out again, she was in his car, going back to the conservatory with Ryoga.

'_H-How did I…' _Miho slapped herself mentally. _'I get caught in this guy's pace too easily.' _

Then she recognized a classical piece that was playing on the radio: Mendelssohn concerto in E minor. She started to finger the notes subconsciously; it was one of her favorite concertos. Ryoga noticed and smirked; who could fool a deep-down violinist?

"Seems you've played this before." He said.

"I did." She replied with her eyes closed in ecstasy, waving her other finger to the beat.

"Hmm… does that mean I could hear you play that one too?"

"…" She didn't answer for a while. She seemed to be in thought. "Maybe if I decide to play it."

"I'll take that as a yes." He chuckled.

* * *

When they arrived they were just in time for the rehearsal.

"Oh, you'll have to sit in the back for now. I'll let everyone know if I want to hold another chair audition." She said as she walked to her office. Ryoga, who didn't remember where the hall was when he left from his room, decided to follow Miho.

"That's fine. I don't really care about chairs."

"Then I'll just put you in the last row."

"That… is another story." He chuckled smugly.

Miho and Ryoga walked towards the hall; she walked through the crowd as usual and Ryoga sat down at the back of the first violin section.

"We have our final recruit today." She first began as everyone hushed down. "Echizen-san." She turned to the first violin section and called.

"Huh?" Ryoma cocked his head, thinking she was talking about him. But that's not right. Then he heard a chair rubbing against the wooden floor at the back of his section.

"Hello, I'm Echizen Ryoga." He stood up, bowed, and introduced himself.

"Echizen?" Everyone murmured.

"ANIKI!" Ryoma shouted, his eyes in disbelief.

"Yo, chibisuke." He grinned and waved his hand.

"So they are brothers." Everyone talked amongst themselves.

"That's cute."

"Alright, is everyone here?"

"Yup."

"Then let's start with Carneval. An A please."

Then Yanagi blew out an A with his oboe.

Meanwhile, Ryoga sat with a violinist named Mouri Juzaburou. He was another recruit by Miho too.

Miho raised her stick, and waved it a little to remind the musicians of the tempo—and gave a big swing to indicate the start.

* * *

**A/N: AHAHAHA JIROU AND EIJI YOU SILLY NAUGHTY BOYS HAHAHA and OOH Ryoga's got some moves. ;) **

**Please leave a review, and you BETTER because I included two sexy(?) events... whatnot... well you better! :D**

**The piece of this chapter is… Mendelssohn violin concerto in E minor by Felix Mendelssohn!**

**Amazing, amaaazing violin concerto. It's delicate but furious at the same time, and the melody is just ahhhh it melts me every time. Sarah Chang by far has the best interpretation I think, it's just that I think her intonation could've been better. But still superb, check it out on youtube!**

* * *

**_OH! PLEASE READ!_**

_As you can see, I'm making this a TezukaXMihoXRyoga! Just for a little heads up!_


	7. Rivals

Prince of Music

Chapter 7: Rivals

The first note rang out—Miho, for a lack of better words, was surprised.

Surprised because they sounded so good. The D major chord was in perfect intonation, all parts crisp and clear, and each section knew when to back off or come out to emphasize the major melody.

She stopped them after about a minute in—although it wasn't perfect, it was still amazingly well done for a first run-through.

"…" She pondered, thinking of the best way to phrase herself. All the musicians stared at her nervously;

"That," She began, "Was one of the most terrific thing I've ever heard in my life."

"…" They all sat there, thinking of which connotation she could mean by "terrific."

"I mean that in a good way."

They all broke out cheering. They didn't expect to hear such comments from the stone-faced conductor. She was smiling then, truly happy with the outcome; she smiled at all of the musicians.

"Now, let's make this as perfect as it can get."

Tezuka was watching her with awe; first of all, he just had the tendency to sort of lose his mind when she smiled, and second of all, she was a great conductor. Precise beats, noticeable movements, gestures to help bring out the interpretations… she was indeed talented.

All the musicians had noticed the latter that Tezuka felt; especially Ryoga, who really didn't expect a 22-year-old to be that skilled like an expert.

They, after finishing up Carneval Overture, moved onto the other pieces: Danse Bacchanale, Shepherd's Hey, and another one that Miho was just about to announce:

"The last piece that I decided to do… is Mendelssohn concerto in E minor. Everyone familiar?"

Some nodded, some didn't.

"Play for us!" Ryoga shouted in the back, startling Miho.

"Wha—"

"Yeah, play for us!" Everyone agreed and kept on asking, flustering Miho.

'_Ryoga you…!' _She glared at Ryoga who just returned with a smile.

Meanwhile, Tezuka was leaping in joy inside. This was a miracle! Getting to hear Miho play his favorite piece!

"I'm not very good." She said.

"That's a lie!" Ryoga shouted again. And so did Tezuka, except he shouted out in his mind.

"I don't have an instrument right now."

"You can borrow mine." Yukimura said, handing her his violin much too innocently and angelically for her to refuse it.

"Play it! Play it! Play it!" They all chanted and she groaned; she accepted in defeat, making all the guys cheer.

She took the violin, did a quick tuning.

"I'm going to play only the beginning." She said, putting the bow on the string. Her unwilling expression was gone and was replaced by a more soothe one.

A high-pitched B rang out, with vibrato that could melt the surrounding in any moment. Everyone felt goose bumps and chills; this was far too perfected and sophisticated than they expected.

After more subtle melody she transitioned into a more furious part, ended with a high A—then ripped out fast notes in the lower string, moving onto staccato-ed arpeggios. Then after that was the arpeggios in octaves, which rang out perfectly in tune, using all of her bows.

After that she stopped, and they were dead quiet.

"I-I told you I wasn't good." She said, fidgeting a little.

"What the hell! That was hella good!" Jirou yelled out first, and it was followed by all sorts of awes and compliments and whatnot.

She gave the violin back to Yukimura. The string instruments, especially, stared her to a point where she was feeling a bit intimidated. The winds and brass were busy talking in the back of the orchestra, but the strings—they stared at her as if she grew another head.

"That was amazing…!" Yukimura said, his eyes glowing. "I would love to play a duet with you."

"C-Certainly."

When she walked up to the podium and looked to her right she saw the cellos gape at her too; Tezuka had a blank expression, Sanada's mouth was wide open, Shiraishi was grinning like an idiot, and Tokugawa had a shocked look.

"Come on, guys, I'm going to hand out the music, so sight read it. Oh, and about the soloist for this performance—"

"You?"

"No."

"Aww…"

"I'll gladly listen to any of you play to see if you want to take this soloist spot. I strongly encourage the first violins and second violins as well, and cellos and violas, I will make sure I pick out cello and viola concertos next time."

They all nodded.

"Now, we're done, so I'll see you all tomorrow." She closed her folders and said. Everyone put away their instruments and left the stage, one by one.

And then, couple of musicians, like Shiraishi, Yukimura, Atobe, Tezuka, Sanada, Ryoga, and more, started crowding around Miho.

"I can't believe you were this good!" Shiraishi exclaimed.

"That was beautiful, yes." Sanada praised her too, which surprised her a little.

"Do you have a recording of this?" Yukimura asked.

"I do."

"Play a duet with me." Yukimura asked, seeming to be almost captured by Miho, looking up at her like a cat looking up at a cat toy.

"Yes, I will remember that."

After all the crowding and asking questions and talking, they all left; Miho was left alone in the stage, still organizing her music. Then she saw a grand piano at the back—feeling tempted to play she walked to it and opened the lid.

Steinwey and Sons—it was her favorite brand.

She sat down, played a light scale.

'_What should I play?' _She thought excitingly. Then after deciding, she put her right hand on the keyboard.

E—a solid, lonely, desolate E flowed out of the strings.

"Hm?" Tezuka's ear caught something he hasn't heard of lately: piano. And what's more, it came from the stage, and what's more and more, he could spot Miho sitting on the piano chair. He was glad that its back was faced to him.

Being a versatile listener, Tezuka recognized the song: it was another one of his favorite piece, Chopin Etude Op 25 No 11, in A minor.

He looked around to see if anyone was around: no one. While at it, he set his cello case down and leaned on the wall, looked at Miho, and started to listen.

"Huh, Chopin in A minor?" A voice came from his back; Tezuka was a bit startled and when he turned around he saw Ryoga trying to peep in too.

She hit a D seventh-diminished chord—and transitioned from subtle, quiet melody to furious, stormy notes. The left hand literally banged on the keyboard, ringing out clear, strong melody while the right hand busily moved trying to hit the busy notes precisely, her fingers moving at a godlike speed.

Ryoga whistled—and got back to listening again.

The piece was about 4 minutes long; she could've played faster, but she didn't warm up too well.

The piece was at its perfection; right hand completely in balance with the left. It was probably the problem that every pianist struggled with, but Miho had a full grasp.

Before they woke themselves up from the captivating piece she was playing an A-melodic scale, indicating the end to the piece.

The piece still resonated within their hearts and mind; not only did they feel the level of prestige with their head but also their hearts—she was furious in stormy parts, delicate and gentle in subtle parts.

"Damn, she's good…" Ryoga whispered.

"I'd like to know something." Tezuka suddenly asked.

"Hm?"

"Why did Haraue play for you last night?"

"Oh. It was kinda like a deal." He explained, smiling. "If she could impress me with whatever instrument, then in return I'd join unconditionally. That was the deal."

"…And why did she go so much as to having to make a deal?" He asked.

"Honestly, I don't know." Ryoga shrugged his shoulders. "She said she just listened to one of my CDs that I released in America. For Sibelius concerto in D minor." He chuckled. "And she played the same thing yesterday—I bet that was intended."

Tezuka was feeling a bit disturbed by the fact that a carefree violinist, who came out of nowhere, caught the conductor's attention so much. If he was Echizen's brother, then he better be good.

"So, why did you decide to hang around?" Ryoga asked.

"…I just thought I heard a familiar piece."

"Hou~ Familiar with piano pieces too, huh."

"Then why did you decide to stay and listen?"

"I came to get her."

At that Tezuka made a puzzled look.

"I was bored so I thought I'd hang out with her." He simply said. "You too?"

"…" He didn't quite answer that. Did he want to somehow interact with her or did he just want to listen to the piece like he said in the first place?

'_I don't know.'_ He thought.

"Ohoho~ Do I have a competitor?" Ryoga laughed.

"You just might." Tezuka said, not caring about what he's going to say (which is pretty rare for him—but then again, he didn't quite act normally around Haraue)

"…" Ryoga stared at him.

"…" Tezuka stared back.

Then with a creak the door opened and Miho walked in between the two.

"Eh? What are you two doing here, staring at each other…?" She asked. "Did you listen to me play…?"

"Yeah! It was really good!" Ryoga first spoke up. And Tezuka quickly nodded also.

"Your piano skills are just as good as the violin skill, Haraue."

"Well, thanks for that…"

* * *

**OOHLALA Ryoga and Tezuka are starting this rivaling relationship!**

**The piece of this chapter is... Chopin's Etude Op 25 No 11 in A minor!**

**Very, very, very, VEEERY beautiful. Amazing. Stunning. I'm currently playing this, and it's a fun and challenging piece as well. **

**Just listen to it, I cannot express in words. **

**My top 5 favorite piece of all time. **


End file.
